Research Projects

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Principal Investigator:
W. Michael Kemp
Co-Principal Investigator:
Walter R. Boynton, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; Christopher J. Madden, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

The overall objective of this project is to apply our approach for estimating "trophic condition," and net ecosystem metabolism (NSM) to shallow areas of the Chesapeake Bay. Specific goals include: measure planktonic and benthic P and R along cross-bay depth gradients; relate NSM with O2 (% sat) and chl a within shallow and between channel stations and shoal areas; develop improved estimates of ecosystem NSM for the whole Bay; estimate the contribution of NSM in mesohaline shoals to inputs of particulate organics to subpycnocline waters in adjacent deeper areas; use this improved method for estimating NSM to deduce interannual patterns of NSM in the Bay and to relate these to changes in nutrient loading and hydrological conditions.

Principal Investigator:
William C. Boicourt
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

To improve the database of current measurements for surface waters in the Louisiana Coastal Current, to describe the temporal evolution of surface layer water properties (salinity, temperature, nutrients, suspended particulate matter, chlorophyll) following a patch of water, and to support the refinement and calibration of models.

Principal Investigator:
Jennifer E. Purcell
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

The objective of the proposed research is to determine predation rates on Acartia tonsa nauplii and copepodites due to tentaculate larval Mnemiopsis ctenophores. These predators may be extremely important in controlling copepod population densities. This research examines predation not yet addressed in my ongoing research on the impacts of medusae and adult ctenophores on copepod populations. This research should complete examination of the major pelagic predators on Acartia copepods in the mesohaline region of Chesapeake Bay.

Principal Investigator:
Mark Sagoff
Co-Principal Investigator:
Wayne Bell, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

This project undertakes an interdisciplinary comparative analysis of the formation and stability of major environmental management programs for four coastal or regional seas, including the Chesapeake Bay. The project inquires how the activities of scientific communities contribute to the success or failure of attempts at environmental governance. It will draw lessons from recent history concerning the prospects of cooperation among groups sharing a regional biological commons. The project would produce publishable papers preparatory to the planned Maryland International Conference on the Environmental Management of Coastal Seas.

Principal Investigator:
Robert P. Burchard
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

The proposed research is designed to characterize an inhibitor of adhesion of marine, estuarine and freshwater biofilm bacteria. The inhibitor is produced by a marine gliding bacterium. The biological spectrum of adhesion inhibitory activity and the inhibitor's effects on the dynamics of biofilm formation on substrata differing in critical surface energy will be determined. Other marine and estuarine biofilm bacteria will be screened for the production of inhibitors of adhesion. AIF is a high molecular weight complex of polypeptides and glycoproteins. If one subunit of the AIF complex is responsible for inhibition of colony expansion and adhesion, it can be cloned and over-produced. AIF or a subunit can be immobilized on or in a substratum so as to maintain it anti-adhesion activity.

Principal Investigator:
Thomas T. Chen
Co-Principal Investigator:
Kennedy T. Paynter, Jr, University of Maryland, College Park
Summary:

By applying recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering, our long term objective is to investigate strategies for improving growth rates of finfish and shellfish in aquaculture via manipulating growth hormone (GH) and growth factor genes. Our specific aims for the next two years are to: continue gene transfer studies in carp, catfish and striped bass; identify and clone cDNA of GH and growth factor genes from oysters; determine the levels of expression of these genes during various growth phases; determine culture conditions which can elevate the expression of GH and growth factor genes; study the effect of biosynthetic GH on growth of larvae, juveniles and adults; and transfer GH and growth factor genes into oysters by electroporation.

Principal Investigator:
Jennifer E. Purcell
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

The objective of the proposed research is to evaluate the importance of chaetognaths as predators and competitors of larval fishes as part of the on going South Atlantic Bight Recruitment Experiment (SABRE).

Principal Investigator:
Yonathan Zohar
Co-Principal Investigator:
Thomas T. Chen, Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; L. Curry Woods, University of Maryland, College Park
Summary:

Our major objectives are to complete the development of a simple, efficient and reliable technology for the induction of spawning and sperm production in striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and related species, based on sustained administration of highly potent analogs of GnRH (GnRHa) via polymer-based delivery systems, and to gain a basic understanding of the mechanisms involved in GnRH synthesis at the level of the GnRH gene.

Principal Investigator:
Gerardo R. Vasta
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

To understand the molecular interactions between an invertebrate host and its parasite or bacterial pathogen (the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica and its parasite Perkinsus marinus and the blue crab Callinectes sapidus and strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus) and their role against disease. To develop molecular tools that will allow us to determine the presence of cryptic infections in oyster seed stock and overwintering populations and pathogenic vibrios in blue crabs. To identify molecular markers that may help to determine which individual oysters or strains may exhibit increased resistance to the parasite for selective breeding.

Principal Investigator:
W. Michael Kemp
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

To develop and test ecosystem simulation models for integrating existing and future information on planktonic and benthic interactions in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in relation to anthropogenic and natural perturbations.

Principal Investigator:
Gerhardt F. Riedel
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

To understand the processes by which trace elements are transported into and out of sediments, how benthic organisms or their activities regulate the transport of such elements between the sediments and the remainder of the ecosystem, and how these processes are altered by periodic changes in the oxygen concentrations of bottom waters.

Principal Investigator:
Roger I.E. Newell
Co-Principal Investigator:
Deborah L. Penry, Donald P. Weston, University of California, Berkeley
Summary:

The objectives of the proposed research are to determine how the partitioning of toxic substances among dissolved and particulate phases affects bioaccumulation by a benthic suspension feeder, and how quantification of this phase-dependent bioavailability could be applied in environmental risk assessment. We will establish the role that ingestion of organic and inorganic particulate matter plays in toxicant uptake by oysters.

Principal Investigator:
James G. Sanders
Co-Principal Investigator:
Kevin G. Sellner, Academy of Natural Sciences Estuarine Research Center
Summary:

Determine the role of algal blooms in concentrating several potentially toxic inorganic contaminants, arsenic, cadmium, and copper; Determine the importance of algal blooms in the transfer of these materials to secondary planktonic and benthic consumers; Estimate the quantity of algal-incorporated trace elements settling to surface sediments.

Principal Investigator:
Thomas T. Chen
Co-Principal Investigator:
Guritno Roesijadi, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

By employing oyster larvae and spat as experimental organisms, we propose to develop and test biochemical and molecular procedures for assessing the potential toxicity of selected metals and organic pollutants. Specific objectives include: (i) cloning the cDNAs of hsp genes, (ii) developing quantitative dot blot assays for MT and hsp mRNAs, and (iii) studying the expression of MT and hsp genes and the synthesis of their gene products during various developmental stages in response to induction by metals and organic compounds.

Principal Investigator:
Lawrence W. Harding, Jr.
Co-Principal Investigator:
Eric C. Itsweire, Johns Hopkins University
Summary:

The objective of this study is to deploy NASA's Ocean Data Acquisition System (ODAS) in the Chesapeake Bay from winter-spring through summer in 1990 to produce fine-scale maps of phytoplankton biomass. We propose to track event-scale changes in phytoplankton distributions during the diatom blooms that develop annually in the mesohaline to polyhaline part of the Bay. Semi-weekly to weekly flights will be made and the chlorophyll distributions determined from aircraft radiance measurements with ODAS. The proposed research will address the linkage of phytoplankton biomass to nutrient loading and other streamflow-related properties using remote sensing methodology.

Principal Investigator:
Charles L. Gallegos
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

To quantify the relative contributions of suspended solids, phytoplankton, dissolved light-absorbing substances and epiphytic growth to the shading of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds.

Principal Investigator:
Jeffrey C. Cornwell
Co-Principal Investigator:
Walter R. Boynton, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; David J. Burdige, Old Dominion University
Summary:

The objectives of this research are to reliably measure the direct fluxes of trace elements across the sediment-water interface of field-collected cores, measure temporal and spatial variability of such fluxes and determine the importance of Mn, Fe and S redox cycling on trace element production and consumption. This project will determine whether the recycling of metals within surficial sediments has an important impact on water column metal concentrations.

Principal Investigator:
Robert S. Anderson
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

The main objective is to carry out comparative studies of the effects of metals and other chemicals on macrophage immune functions using mammalian and aquatic invertebrate animal models. This is part of a collaborative study to determine the potential for interspecies extrapolation of immunotoxicological data, in an attempt to develop models using alternative species for toxicity testing. Immunosuppressive effects of chemical exposure on bivalve blood cells (this proposal) will be compared to those produced by the same chemicals on rat alveolar macrophages (carried out by collaborators at the U.S. Army Chemical Research, Development and Engineering Center).

Principal Investigator:
Hugh W. Ducklow
Co-Principal Investigator:
Madilyn Fletcher, Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Summary:

The overall objective is to understand the role of bacteria in decomposition of phytoplankton biomass and the importance of this process in the trophic dynamics and movement of toxic substances through Chesapeake Bay. Specific objectives are to analyze biochemically and microbiologically suspended phytodetritus, estimate bacterial production derived from decomposition of phytodetritus in the mesohaline and oligohaline regions of the Bay, and investigate the utilization of particulate substrates by bacteria in laboratory model systems.

Principal Investigator:
Douglas G. Capone
Co-Principal Investigator:
Jay Gooch, Joel E. Baker, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

To examine the effect of altering redox conditions and length of exposure to halogenated organics on the capacity of the bacterial flora of surficial sediments to transform and degrade chlorinated hydrocarbons. For two sites in Chesapeake Bay which experience seasonal anoxia and have differing organic contaminant loads, samples will be collected before, during and after seasonal anoxia and examined for the chlorinated hydrocarbon concentration. The effect of anoxia in conditioning (through dechlorination) model chlorinated hydrocarbons for subsequent oxic catabolism will be determined in manipulative laboratory experiments of these sediments using a combination of 14C-tracer, GC/MS and HPLC. Sediments will also be returned to the laboratory for microcosm experiments.

Principal Investigator:
Madilyn Fletcher
Co-Principal Investigator:
Hugh W. Ducklow, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

The overall objective is to understand the role of bacteria in decomposition of phytoplankton biomass and the importance of this process in the trophic dynamics of Chesapeake Bay. Specific objectives are to analyze biochemically suspended phytodetritus, estimate bacterial production and respiration derived from decomposition of phytodetritus, investigate the utilization of particulate substrates by bacteria in laboratory model systems, and study bacterial production in the mesohaline and oligohaline regions of the Bay.

Principal Investigator:
Jennifer E. Purcell
Co-Principal Investigator:
Michael R. Roman, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

We propose to determine if the control of copepod populations in the spring and fall are due to predation by gelatinous zooplankton (top-down control), or due to food limitations (bottom-up control). We will measure predation rates on copepods and ctenophores by gelatinous species, biomass of gelatinous and crustacean zooplankton, copepod grazing rates on phytoplankton, protozoa and detritus, and copepod reproduction.

Principal Investigator:
Robert W. Chapman
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

Assess genetic variation in adult blue crabs from Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries as well as Delaware Bay and Pamlico Sound. Examine genetic variation in recently metamorphosed individuals.

Principal Investigator:
Daniel J. Conley
Co-Principal Investigator:
Thomas C. Malone, Patricia M. Glibert, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Summary:

To determine the relative importance of N and Si in limiting the magnitude of the spring diatom bloom and in precipitating its collapse in Chesapeake Bay; specifically, to test the hypothesis that the collapse of the spring bloom occurs as a consequence of Si deficiency and associated increases in sedimentation rate.

Principal Investigator:
Gail B. Mackiernan
Co-Principal Investigator:
Summary:

The purpose of this workshop is to provide input and evaluation to the Environmental Protection Agency's effort to derive national dissolved oxygen criteria salt water. An examination of current and proposed research approaches supported by EPA, NOAA and others, data synthesis and interpretation, and the usability of these criteria by managers and regulators will be examined. Incorporation of workshop recommendations into ongoing research efforts is planned.

Since 1977, Maryland Sea Grant has funded scientific research relevant to the Chesapeake Bay and the Maryland residents who conserve, enjoy, and make their living from it. We strive to fund projects that both advance scientific knowledge and offer practical results benefiting ecosystems, communities, and economies throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

Click on an individual project to find out more. Search current and past research projects here.

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